Ross Resigns From Yardley Borough Council, Applicants Sought

YARDLEY, PA —The Yardley Borough Council has yet another vacancy after it was announced Tuesday that Councilman Matt Ross has left the post.

Near the end of Tuesday night's council meeting, Council President Caroline Thompson said she had received a letter from Ross indicating his resignation from the seven-member board.

She said the resignation was effective Dec. 31 and Ross wasn't at the meeting Tuesday night to say goodbye.

The council is now accepting applicants for the position through next Wednesday.

Thompson did not state at Tuesday's meeting why Ross, who missed several council meetings last year, had resigned. Ross had attended the board's meeting earlier in December to adopt its 2023 municipal budget.

No words were spoken by council members about Ross's service or departure during the comment portion before the council voted to accept the resignation and open up the vacancy. Ross also did not post anything about his resignation on his council Facebook account.

Councilman Matt Curtin asked what would happen if the council didn't accept the resignation, which led to chuckles from board members. He was told the resignation would go into effect anyways after a certain period of time.

Reached by Patch following the meeting, Thompson responded on Facebook Messenger that while his resignation letter did not offer details, Ross was resigning "to devote more time to his family."

Resident Dawn Perlmutter —who was interviewed during the last round of council vacancies in the fall —asked how the vacancy process would work.

"I've done it so many times. That might be a world record too," Perlmutter said. "I want to know what the process is and what the timeline is."

Perlmutter had criticized the council in mid-December, saying she was never considered for a civil service commission appointment even though the borough had her application on file. Thompson had informed her at that time that prior applicants do not get re-interviewed for borough vacancies.

Thompson said Tuesday that council openings do get interviews because of the "level of responsibilities for the borough."

Thompson said the guidelines would be "formally articulated" on Facebook and the borough's website and that applications would be due by Jan. 11 with the board conducting the interviews at its next meeting on Jan. 17.

"The goal is always that we want to give someone appointed to council the longest term they can have," and that 12 months is always optimal so they can make "productive decisions."

Perlmutter asked if candidates could interview by Zoom since the opening came up so quickly, but was told by Thompson that if the council "did not receive qualified applicants, we would hold the vacancy open and not vote."

Perlmutter told Patch in an email Wednesday that she would seek the position once again.

She also said in a follow-up email that she placed a Right To Know request for Ross's resignation letter and any correspondence regarding his resignation.

The council now consists of Thompson, Kim Segal-Morris, Curtin, John McCann, David Appelbaum, and Don Carlson.

In early September, Appelbaum and Carlson filled the vacancies of David Bria and Chris Campellone, who resigned because they were moving out of town.

The size of the council has been called into question when a resident filed a petition to have the council reduced from seven to five members due to the borough's size. That measure, which became a Nov. 8 ballot question, was defeated by voters.